Behavior has consequences! This applies both to individuals and to societies. Learn how most of the crises presented by politicians and the media can be traced to the cumulative effects of our own behavior in 5 key areas: Economic Understanding, Discipline, Responsibility, Critical Thinking, and Perspective. Ignoring behavior leads to failure; using this new model leads to real answers.
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Friday, June 6, 2014

The Light Bulb Dilemma

I hate waste and I hate high electric bills.I know if I replace burned out light bulbs
with more efficient bulbs, I will be reducing waste by using less electricity
and will be paying lower electric bills.

Every so often, though, the question has popped into my head
whether I should throw out perfectly good incandescent bulbs and replace them
right away instead of waiting for them to burn out.That seems like a needless waste.On the other hand, would the reduction in
electricity make up for the fact that I have discarded a working light
bulb?

Knowing that compact fluorescent light bulbs (CFL) are more
efficient and last longer but cost more than the traditional incandescent and
that the newer LED bulbs are even more efficient, last even longer but are even
more expensive is not enough to decide.I needed numbers.So I went to
the National Resource Defense Council website for answers.It has tables showing the cost of a new bulb,
its life expectancy and its average energy usage.

A 60-watt bulb, for example, costs about half a dollar, but
uses about $8 of energy per year and lasts only about one year.The equivalent CFL costs about $3 by the
table (I just bought 3 for $6 so the price continues to come down.) and uses
$1.74 of electricity per year.If I throw
out an incandescent bulb the waste is less than fifty cents, since I’ve already
partially used it up.I recoup the cost
of the new bulb (on average) in less than 4 months ($2.00 cost divided by the
expected energy saving, $8 - $1.74 = $6.26, equals less than one-third of a
year).Sounds like a good decision even
if the CFL didn’t last as long as they claim, especially considering that
continuing to burn the old bulb is costing considerably more.(LED prices for the same amount of light have
dropped too, but taking the next step from CFL to LED is more difficult to justify
since the energy savings is only 40 cents per year.)

Now I know the answer to my occasional question –another
victory for a little research and critical thinking!

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About Me

is highly qualified to comment on the connection between our behavioral choices and the results we get. His formal education and training in observing and classifying behavior is supported by more than 40 years of practical business experience and 10 years of personal research. He is a West Point graduate with two Master’s degrees in business.
He is also a published author, Master Gardener and RYT200 yoga teacher.